Pros: New renovations and cleaning up of this course has made this course bareable again. Love the choice of 2 tee pads and 2 baskets on most of the holes. Can never get bored of this course. Has everything that carroll marty doesnt have. Long holes. A couple over 500 or 600 from the long to long. Every hole is laid out very nicely. Like the new long tee pad on hole 8 and the very short tee pad on hole 2 super short but still a little technical. 2 Nice additions

Cons: Even though the cleaning up of this course helped. The few holes by the river have a lot of poison ivy all over. Which is very annoying.

Other Thoughts: If you play carroll marty and like it i recommend stable run

Pros: Great tees, multiple baskets on most holes, clearly marking which is long and short (different colors). Good mix of long and open and tight and technical.

Good signs. Pretty straightforward layout.

Cons: No real elevation to speak of. The course is fairly flat.

Other Thoughts: I really enjoyed this course, it had a bit for everyone, and has a ton of replay value with the multiple placed baskets and tees. I could see spending a weekend playing this course at all the long and short baskets and tees, would be a pretty fun and different 72 holes.

Pros: Great course, open sunrise to sunset. Every hole has a red and yellow tee pad, as well as a red and a yellow pin, allowing for 4 different ways to play each hole. Very tricky shots through the woods. It is very easy to get around with numerous signs to point you in the right direction, as well as each sign at the tee pad is easy to read and gives you all the info you need to know about the hole. This course is among the top in the Des Moines/Ames area.

Cons: Very busy, wasn't too big of a deal this time of the year, but I can only imagine in the summer.

Other Thoughts: Congrats to..... oh ya... Me! I won this course on the 3rd course of the day on March 15th, in the epic Des Moines Frolf outing. The open sign is so sweet.

Pros: One of the biggest pros about a course for me is one that has wooded shots, and open shots.
-First 10 are wooded
-Back 8 are more open, with two good par 4's on golds
-Winds back to the start after 9 and 18 holes so you can play the whole thing, or the front or back nine and still end up where you started.
-2 teepads and 2 baskets for the majority of the holes. It really helps, especially for us locals, to keep things interesting and different, having 4 different ways to play the course.
-Teepads are concrete and grippy
-Minor use of elevation where there is some, It's Iowa so we aren't going to have mountains, the course makes good use of what we have to work with.
-The flood cleaned out most of the dead wood, and then ISU poured quite a bit of money into cleaning the course back up. This summer had it looking the best its been in a while (2010).
-Practice basket tucked in around the corner from the entrance (behind hole 18)
-Not crowded like Carroll Marty

Cons: -Sign distances are off, since it's had changes after they were installed.
-Not enough trash cans, there are some and that's a pro, but often not enough.

Other Thoughts: I choose this course over Carroll Marty frequently, and I live within sight of CM. The shots are more difficult, to present more challenge, and you don't have supergroups in the summer like at CM.

Pros: -Dual tees on most holes
-Good amount of parking
-Bathroom right before entering the course
-Detailed signs on every hole
-Easy to follow layout even if you haven't been here before
-2 baskets on each hole, red and yellow, make it so you can play so many variations of each hole. You can play 4 variations of most holes.
-Good mix of open and wooded holes although no holes are completely open. There is also a good amount of trees to make it challenging but not impossible.
-Clean course even with lack of garbage cans
-Not a lot of elevation but the few holes that have it use it well
-Good variations in distance; some nice medium range ace runs and some real long bombs especially if you play long tee and long basket
-Good locals, also a league that plays here or at Carroll Marty on the South Side of town
-Practice basket located to the left of hole ones tee box or after hole 18 long pin

Cons: -Can be flooded since it's right on the river
-A little chance to lose a disc in the river or woods
-Not many garbage cans, I saw just one
-Can be crowded when the course is in good condition, especially since a large university is here.
-Not a lot of elevation, only 2 holes use it much
-Buggy, muggy and overgrown at times in the summer, fall would probably be the best time to play here

Other Thoughts: I prefer this rougher, shorter type of course to the longer, more country club type of course like Walnut Ridge in Des Moines. This course and the other one in Ames are about similar quality and both highly enjoyable. Ames is right on I-35 so these two courses are a must stop!

Update as of 2 years after review: Stopped again and played the course when not flooded. It was still a lot of fun but I've played a lot of great courses since then. I realized that 4.5 was a little high. The front 9, when well maintained is certainly a 4.5 quality course but the back 9, even when maintained, is probably a 3.5. This is one of those legendary old courses that will always be good but it doesn't quite compete with the new courses and all they have to offer.

Pros: 2 tees and pins on most holes creates a great variety of ways to play the course. Lots of trees and options on shots. Tight and technical front nine, longer and more open back nine. However, still plenty of obstacles on the back nine to make you think about your shots. Almost no waiting compared to the other course in town.

Cons: Not much elevation change at all. A lot of trees can create a very frustrating day if your having bad luck. The course gets really overgrown in the late summer/fall and it can become difficult to find your disc if it goes off the fairways.

Other Thoughts: The more disc golf I play, the more I like this course. When I played this course last year i really did not like it because it was just too difficult for me. But now I am much better and enjoy the challenge. Don't give up on the course after you play it just once or twice. Try a few different tee/pin combos and find what is right for you.